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Old 11-30-2020, 12:15 PM   #6
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: ST-based magic [Thaumatology]

Well, there are greater balance issues with any attribute used for skill-based magic. With IQ, IQ provides Per, Will, and a bonus for every IQ-based skill. With DX, DX provides Basic Speed and a bonus for every DX-based skill. With HT, HT provides Basic Speed, FP, and a bonus for every HT-based skill. With Per and Will, they each provide a bonus to their respective skills.

ST is the only attribute that does not really provide a bonus to other skills, so I think that it would be less of a balance issue. The bonuses granted by ST tend to become less valuable with the introduction of magic (the old 'linear fighter, quadratic magician' issue), so making magic based off ST would tend to balance things out a bit. Of course, it could just be one magical system among many in a magical setting.

In order to prevent excessive abuse though, the magic would need to be based on the overall ST of the mage, not on any of the components (HP, Lifting ST, Striking ST, or Super ST). Practitioners could use Extra Effort to gain a bonus to their effective ST, but they would need to avoid reaching less than 1/3 FP, as their effective ST would be halved. In the case of FP-fueled magical systems, they would have to be very careful when spending FP, as reaching less than 1/3 FP would greatly reduce their effective skill.
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